The Joys of Fishing
by link no miko
Summary: Because sometimes, relaxing pasttimes aren't always relaxing.


**The Joys of Fishing**

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This was written as an LJ Fandom Drabble Challenge (although technically I went over the 1000 word limit...). Specifically, it was written for the girl who plays Neji in the Naruto RP I'm a part of. I haven't written Link-kun in a long while and I really enjoyed it, and so I thought I'd share it with others. I'm sure Neji won't mind.

Anywho. Pointless comedy, written in about an hour. But I enjoy it nonetheless.

Comments and criticisms always appreciated.

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Link prided himself on his abilities as the Hero of Time. He was the savior of Hyrule, slayer of monsters, the knight in shining armor told in stories to put children to sleep. He knew how to use a multitude of weapons—and use them well—and he was perhaps the most dedicated man in the country when he had a goal.

And yet he could not catch a fish to save his life.

And the man at the desk _laughing_ at him was _not_ helping his situation any.

"Teehee, Link," the tiny sprite giggled, bouncing around his head in that little dance of hers that, while annoying, was strangely endearing. Just not today. _Definitely_ not today. "Having some trouble?"

"Shut…up…" he growled through his teeth, reeling the line back in and preparing for another cast. So help him he _would_ catch a fish and he _would_ make sashimi and _enjoy_ it. Come Ganon or otherwise, his stomach would be satisfied!

Navi's laughter as he pulled up yet another piece of seaweed nearly shattered him.

"Hey, boy," the angler at the desk called out, leaning over the glass, a piece of long grass in his mouth as he smirked at the young Hero. "Wan'a little help?"

"Nooo," Link ground out as politely as possible, pointedly ignoring the man behind him. "No, I would not like some help. I can do this perfectly fine on my own."

If the angler laughed like that again, so help him…

Five casts later and nothing to show for it but a lot of nasty, bitten-back words he'd learned from Impa, Navi hovered by his head, her glow as dim as his mood as Link threw the fishing pole to the ground and followed after it, arms and legs crossed in a huff. His hat fell askew and he righted it, movements accented in his anger, and quite suddenly his faerie partner was laughing, bouncing up and down in the air, the tiny sound of bells echoing around them.

He hoped she saw the _righteous anger_ he put into his glare.

"S-sorry," she hiccupped and she wasn't sorry at all, "it's just… You… The face you made was so great… I couldn't help it!"

Link seriously considered yelling at her, but realized at the last second it wouldn't matter. Navi was Navi, and she'd always find something to tease him about. If it wasn't his fishing abilities—or lack thereof—he was sure she'd find something else soon enough. So he settled instead for sighing, and then the sigh quickly led to a grin, which then led to a chuckle.

He _had_ rather overreacted, hadn't he?

"Yeah," he agreed, grinning as she alighted on his hat, "I guess it _was_ kinda funny…"

"It was."

"And I guess I sort of, kind of, overreacted."

"You did."

He lifted a hand and she jumped to it, then up into the air as he stood, picking up the fishing pole as he did so. Collected now, he was ready to face the waters again, ready to take up the challenge and _win_.

The angler behind the counter chuckled.

Link had to admit, now that he was calmed down, that fishing wasn't really so bad. Besides the waterlogged boots and the gnats, or the way the fish would taunt him _just so_ by coming so close to his lure and then darting away. Yeah, fishing wasn't half bad.

So he let himself enjoy it, just a little. Remembered when he came here as a boy, before he knew how evil the angler-man was, and would sit and watch the fish and beg to use a fishing pole. How back then, things weren't as bad as they were now, and Hyrule hadn't been destroyed by a rampaging megalomaniac with a harem (although Nabooru would kill him should he ever say that out loud).

However, when the fish caught the bait, jerking the line hard, Link was pulled from his thoughts in a flash, planting his feet in the shallows and reeling back with as much force as he could and not break the line. His eyes shone brightly at the prospect of finally, _finally_, catching a fish, and his stomach grumbled angrily that it had taken him this long.

And slowly, so very slowly, the line began to inch closer and closer as the fish began to lose, and Link allowed himself more force to reel it in. He could just see the shadow of the fish now, his heart beating wildly as he was about to make his first, real step into the world of fishing-hood.

And then there was a snap of wood, the twang of a line, and Link fell backwards into the water as the fish quickly swam away from him, somehow managing to lose the lure in its escape.

Navi hovered above him quietly, wings beating slow and soft. "Link…?"

No answer.

She crept closer. "Link, are you ok…?"

Was that a twitch?

She was right above his face now. "Link…?"

Words that made her turn pink flew through the air as Link launched himself up out of the shallow water, hookshot at the ready and his eyes wide and just slightly insane. The tiny faerie eep'd and dove into his hat as he jumped on the log in the center of the pond, aimed the retractable weapon at a school of fish, and let fire.

His cackling echoed throughout the tiny area.

"H-hey!" Link stopped at the sound of the angler's voice, the man finally coming from behind his desk to stand on the shore, face red with anger. "Wha'd'ya think yer doin'!"

And, calmer than he'd been all night, Link jumped down into the water, reached down to pick up his fishing rod, and chucked it at the man, smiling in delight as the broken piece of wood sent the man to the ground.

Putting the hookshot away, Link traipsed out of the water and up to the door, stopping only for a moment to reach down and pull the man's hat off, twirling it around his fingers as he walked to the door. Before leaving, he set it calmly on the desk, along with his ten rupees for the fishing pole charge, and then quietly shut the door behind him.

It was time for him to go and find some dinner.


End file.
